JI EUN - 25

About 3 weeks ago, SECRET member Ji Eun released her single "Don't Look At Me Like That." The MV had a mysterious numeral at the end: "25." Well, at least we know what that means now as she has just dropped her new album with that title. Near the end of September, she uploaded a pic onto her Instagram and wrote, "25. Now it's the age where I know things. Look forward to the new project," giving us the idea behind the album.  



The album opens with the upbeat, short intro song "Janus." While the tune is fairly epic, the lyrics are a bit confusing. Janus is the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, doorways, and endings. He is portrayed in art as having two faces. While the title itself would make sense (as it is the beginning track), the lyrics seem to indicate more pliability than two-faced-ness -- such as "I can be anything you want." The tune is a good one if you don't think too hard about it.



We transition (see what I did there?) into the title track, "Pretty Age 25." A Duble Sidekick-penned tune, this song is about shedding a child's things and attitudes and becoming a woman. The retro horns and acoustic guitar wrapped around a high-tempo dance rhythm work well. I like Ji Eun's voice here; she has nice control of her vocals, and the parts where she belts out the chorus don't sound strained. It's pretty and danceable; I like the rap elements, which Ji Eun handles well.   

The next track on the album is "Don't Look At Me Like That," unique among K-Pop songs as it challenges preconceived notions about love and relationships.  A powerful mid-tempo ballad, the song is a pre-release single that I reviewed already. I like the concept and the song. My feelings on this have not changed.



Moving on, the rather oddly-named "La Boum" is the 4th track. It straddles the midway point between medium and high tempo. While I like the song structure and the upbeat nature, the lyrics are nothing to write home about. This track is all about the thing people do behind closed doors, and how excited she is that it's about to happen. At the end, there is an extremely high-pitched, squeaky intonation of the tune's title (sounding much like a small child), which lends a somewhat creepy aspect to the whole affair.



The final song on the album is "Star," which Ji Eun composed herself. It is primarily sung to an acoustic guitar and is a pretty ballad. It's also very spare, which is a bold move. The song is primarily carried by her vocals, and many times in a song, there's a lot more going on to give more weight and substance to the song. Here, the simplicity is its strength. It never strays into orchestral territory, giving her understated backing vocals and a drumbeat that doesn't start until about a minute and a half in. She hits high parts with sublime skill and shows us in this track. The lyrics are beautiful:

Will those stars know how I feel?
Every night, I talk to myself
It's lonely, it feels empty, my heart feels void
I walk as I hold back tears
Ooh Lonely Night
Ooh I Wanna Be Starlight
The countless stars are twinkling a lot
But it's hard for me to shine the brightest out of them

'25' is a mature album and a great listen. The songs "Star" and "Don't Look At Me Like That" are particularly introspective and feel quite personal. Ji Eun's singles have never failed to impress me; from "Crazy" to "Vintage" and now "Pretty Age 25," she's shown that she can handle the mini-album format, as well. As she proclaims in the title track, "it's [her] time to shine."

Recommended tracks: Star, Pretty Age 25

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